


Petals on Black

by orphan_account



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Confident Yuuri but it's fake, Dialogue Heavy, Eventual Smut, Fluff and Angst, Jealousy, M/M, Mutual Pining, Recreational Drug Use, Romance, Rumors, Sexual Tension, softcore action/crime stuff don't worry about it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-31
Updated: 2017-04-10
Packaged: 2018-10-13 07:53:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10509519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: The cliche where the Top Student™ reluctantly falls for the delinquent playboy (who in reality is just a shy drug dealer).





	1. A Walking Shadow

If someone were to ask Katsuki Yuuri why he was out on the streets selling drugs, then he would say, “Drugs? Sorry never heard of those.”

 

And then after a moment, “Why? Are you interested?”

 

It’s not like Yuuri had meant to crinkle a signed poster at a shady DVD store that doubled as some sort of organized crime gathering house. He didn’t know said DVD store was a place where a well-known drug boss would be holding meetings-he thought that stuff only happened in bad action movies. He didn’t know he would get knocked unconscious and be coerced into signing a contract with said well-known drug boss.

 

But all of those events occurred, and the details and trauma involved would be things Yuuri would take to the grave.

 

So yes, Katsuki Yuuri had spent a better part of his first year in America dealing drugs, but _he didn’t know._ And honestly, selling cocaine and psychedelics for a few years really seemed bland in the grand scheme of things. At least he hadn’t been handed stuff like heroin or meth. Drug dealing was a lucrative business in Michigan, and it wasn’t difficult to meet his monthly quota-and as a result, stay alive.

 

“You have a pretty skewed moral scale,” Phichit had commented (regarding Yuuri’s perspective on his situation) without judgment.

 

Ah, Phichit. Yuuri would not have survived thus far in this weird country (where people don’t take their shoes off when entering someone’s home, _what the fuck?)_ without him.

 

And this was one of the main reasons he was freaking out now. Phichit had switched majors last year, and as a result, would be living in a completely different hall and Yuuri would be rooming with someone else.

 

Phichit would be fine. Phichit was social, bright, Phichit was the Sun.

 

“I don’t know what side of the room I should be taking? What if he has a preference?” Yuuri cried into his phone.

 

He could hear Phichit yawning on the other side. “If I remember correctly, both beds are pretty much an equal distance from everything else in the room.”

 

“You’re wrong,” Yuuri insisted, “the bed on the left is closer to the bathroom.”

 

“Oh. Um, yeah. That’s obviously going to be a big problem.” Phichit’s voice oozed with sarcasm. “Look, I’m sure whoever you’re rooming with won’t mind walking three extra steps to the bathroom, right?”

 

Yuuri sighed before reluctantly revealing, “Victor Nikiforov. I’m rooming with him.”

 

“You’re rooming with Victor Nikiforov?!” Yuuri had to pull the smartphone back a few inches, “and you didn’t think to tell me until now?”

 

Victor Nikiforov. ASB (Associate Student Body) President, Number One on the Dean’s List, and also President of-

 

“-Sigma Delta Phi! Dude? We’re gonna get invited to even more parties now!” Phichit was practically gushing.

 

“No,” Yuuri replied firmly. “No. Let me stop you right there, I am not letting you drag me to any more parties after what happened at the last one.”

 

“Aw, but Yuuri,” drawled Phichit, amused, “you have a reputation now.”

 

Yuuri groaned, “Don’t distract me from the problem at hand. I can’t upset this guy-he looks like a fairy.”

 

“He is attractive,” agreed Phichit, and then after a pause continued gleefully. “You looked up pictures of him?”

 

Yuuri froze, realizing his mistake. “Everyone knows who he is, Phichit. Everyone knows what he looks like.”

 

“True, but you live under a rock,” said Phichit, mercilessly. “Wow, the top-ranked student is rooming with our resident bad boy. Isn’t this the start of every rom-com, ever?”

 

Despite the exasperated sigh Yuuri let out, he couldn’t stop the small smile that stretched his lips as Phichit continued to distract him by spinning some ridiculous story.

 

* * *

 

“You’re rooming with Yuuri Katsuki?!” Christophe all but yelled in Victor’s ear.

 

Victor winced. “Yes? You know him?”

 

Victor took a cautionary step away from his friend as the other man excitedly spun a wild tale that involved pole-dancing, unhealthy amounts of alcohol, and Yuuri Katsuki walking off into the night with three women.

 

“That’s fine, as long as he doesn’t bring a bunch of people into our dorm,” muttered Victor whilst attempting to process the overload of information Christophe had just dumped on him.

 

“He also does meth, I think, so keep an eye out for that,” said Christophe lightly.

 

Victor choked. “Meth? Like the drug?”

 

Christophe shot him a puzzled look. “Yeah…like the drug. Literally the drug.”

 

Victor’s mind unhelpfully conjured a vivid image of Yuuri (a bulky, bald man with an eight-pack who only wore wife beaters) turning their dorm into a meth lab. He would hold Victor at gunpoint to make sure Victor couldn’t tell anybody about it, and Victor would die in the impending explosion because making meth was _dangerous._

“This is a rumor, right?” asked Victor weakly. “The university would surely investigate…?”

 

Christophe shrugged and looked over his shoulder in a decidedly overdramatic pose. “Rumors have to start from somewhere.”

 

Needless to say, the dorm looked nothing like the beginnings of a meth lab. In fact, Yuuri Katsuki himself looked nothing like what he’d imagined him to be.

 

“What did you think I’d look like?” Amusement colored the man’s voice.

 

 _Victor had said that out loud. Okay._ “Just different,” Victor replied smoothly. Different as in Yuuri was not a bald man with an eight-pack (the latter was still slightly debatable), and he certainly wasn’t wearing a wife beater.

 

No, Yuuri looked ethereal. He walked with a grace that you just had to be born with, and Victor had to make an active effort to manage his expression as the other man approached him and stuck his hand out.  “I’m Yuuri Katsuki,” he said ruefully, “just in case you were too busy to read the Dorm Assignment.”

 

“No, I know who you are. I’m Victor Nikiforov.” Victor shook his hand firmly. Wow, his hands were nice. Or at least, his left one was. Maybe his right hand was calloused and bruised from rigorous drug-mixing.

 

“I know who you are too,” Yuuri said easily, before promptly breaking into a blush. Victor felt an unwilling smile start to form on his face. “Anyways, I didn’t know which side you wanted so I just thought I’d wait.”

 

Surely, this wasn’t an impressive gesture and Victor didn’t care which side he had but he felt his heart warm up all the same. “I’ll go with the right side, thank you.”

 

They made small talk while moving their stuff in; questions about majors (yes, Victor was majoring in Liberal Studies but the University let him live wherever he wanted), favorite general education courses, and the drama between Professor Yakov and Dr. Baranovskaya were all tossed around. Victor made no inquiries regarding the topic of methamphetamine, a feat easily achieved, until-

 

“Hey, so…uh- I’d prefer it if you didn’t touch any of my stuff? Like any of it. Or like, just ask me first…I don’t know.” Yuuri made the confusing request as he stuffed a black duffle bag under his bed.

 

“Sure, I can manage that,” replied Victor, hoping he managed to hide the suspicion in his voice. “In return, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t bring any…surprise visitors.”

 

Yuuri frowned in confusion. “Surprise visitors...?”

 

“Girlfriends, one night stands, that sort of stuff. You know what I mean.” It was hard to keep his voice casual; no, Yuuri did not look like the wife-beater wearing meth machine his brain had made up, but Victor would rather keep it safe and not sound demanding.

 

Yuuri just _grinned._ “Sure, I can manage that.”

 

(Victor would rather step on a dead body than admit that Yuuri’s smile kept appearing in his mind for the rest of the day.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you :)


	2. Strange Imaginings

“Dude, I didn’t say he made meth!” Christophe exclaimed, gazing at Victor with complete exasperation as if the Russian was a lost cause.

 

“You should join track-and-field with the way you jump to conclusions,” Yuri said, his voice dark.

 

Alright, so Yuuri had shown no indication that he was making meth. However, after Moving Day, he had spent a suspicious amount of time away from their dorm. In fact, the only time he’d see Yuuri had been when the other man would come back at some obscene hour. Victor would wake briefly, barely process that it was his elusive roommate, and then fall back asleep. When Victor would really wake up the next day, Yuuri’s bed would be neatly made and the man would be nowhere in sight.

 

This routine had been repeating for five days now. It had been five days since Victor had been fully alert to appreciate Yuuri’s beauty and presence. Yuuri’s slender and dancing fingers exploring the nooks and crannies of the dorm furniture. Yuuri’s soft voice and careful words. Yuuri’s forever blushed cheeks. Yuuri's legs which had apparently walked him out of a party with three girls.

 

Three girls. Still possibly a meth enthusiast.

 

_He had talked to the guy for just an hour, what was wrong with him?_

“Give me the good details,” Christophe urged, “did he bring back any…ah, romantic conquests?”

 

Victor didn’t bother reminding Christophe of the no surprise visitors rule. “He’s never there. He gets back to the dorm at some ungodly hour and then leaves before even I wake up.”

 

Yuri slammed his pencil down. “You said he’s a chemistry major, right? He’s probably in the labs doing whatever shit those nerds do.”

 

Christophe shot Victor a shark-like grin. “Maybe making meth?”

 

“Or maybe he just hates you,” added Yuri offhandedly, picking his pencil back up and dragging it harshly across his notebook.

 

Victor groaned and wished he had never told his friends of his suspicions. In the dominant, rational part of his mind, Victor knew it was ridiculous. The fact was that he only clung on to this theory because Yuuri had such a mysterious aura. Yuri’s words did strike a chord in him, though. Did Victor really make such an abysmal first impression that Yuuri couldn’t bear to see him? He thought of the way the other man had abruptly gotten up and left mid-conversation on their first night together. Victor had tried not to feel offended; whatever it was, it seemed like a pressing matter. He had tried to stay up to ask if everything was okay, but Yuuri had not come back. Then after nearly five days of solid absence, Victor was starting to fear that maybe it was him and not some other external problem. He couldn’t even admit this concern out loud because Yuri, in spite of being all sharp points and icy edges, would probably try to beat up anyone that upset Victor.

 

Yuri. Yuuri. Victor needed a distraction.

 

“Yurio,” Victor crooned fondly, “can I call you that?”

 

Yuri fumbled with his pencil before his eyes met Victor’s with a sharp glare. “Why.”

 

Out of the corner of his eye, Victor noticed that though Chris was staring at his laptop, his hands had stopped typing. “Well, as you may know, my roommate’s name sounds just like yours. I just need to do something to avoid the confusion.”

 

Yuri looked at Victor like he was debating what would be the easiest way to end the older man’s existence. Then quite abruptly, his face broke into a cruel, _cruel_ smile. “Yeah. Okay. You can call me that-if you get this roommate to actually hang out with you. If he’s never around you then there’s no confusion, right?

 

Victor’s playful smile froze and he could hear Christophe choking back a laugh. Oh, that had backfired badly.

 

* * *

 

It was approximately 11 PM on Moving Day that Yuuri officially realized that being around Victor would be difficult.  

 

The two of them had parted ways earlier after they had finished moving their belongings in with polite farewells. Yuuri simply felt accomplished on the account that he had managed to talk to his new roommate without absolutely embarrassing himself. Even while exchanging pleasantries and sticking to surface-level topics during the hour they spent together, Yuuri found it challenging to maintain the casual persona he had developed for his customers, and by extension, people he didn’t know.

 

Phichit had a quick answer for him when he brought up the issue later that day. “It’s because you think he’s hot.“

 

Objectively yes, Victor was good-looking, very much so. "I have hot customers," Yuuri pointed out. Several of Yuuri’s clients were attractive but Yuuri had treated all of them with a practiced, polite detachment. If he thought it might help bring in more revenue, Yuuri was not above suggestive flirtations. Why couldn't he pull the same tricks on Victor?

 

"Victor is not your customer," Phichit had countered easily. "Selfie," he added in the same light tone, resulting in a picture of him smiling happily and Yuuri looking mildly miffed.

 

"I know people who aren't my customers who are also hot," Yuuri argued. 

 

Phichit rolled his eyes. "Maybe Victor is just too intelligent and sees past the sixteen fake personalities you hide behind." 

 

Yuuri had nothing in response to that. He hadn't talked to Victor long enough for him to be seeing past anything and the fact that Yuuri had to work to keep it together despite that concerned him.

 

Later that night, Yuuri lay in his bed while he finalized some meeting plans with a few customers within the university on his phone. With college students, Yuuri only sold weed and some prescription drugs, and he never indicated to the fact that he carried harder substances. This was a group that Yuuri kept as small as possible. They didn’t bring in much money and it was significantly harder to stay discreet. He had a separate phone to make plans with those who were invested in the more illicit products Yuuri carried.

 

Victor eventually clicked their door open and after tossing a thick file onto his desk he effortlessly threw himself onto his bed. "Don’t go into politics, Yuuri," the man grumbled into his pillow.

 

Yuuri peered at the mop of silver hair over his phone. "I thought you were in liberal studies?"

 

Victor propped himself up on his elbow. “The student government,” he clarified, "is full of idiots."

 

Yuuri glanced at Victor before quickly focusing back on his phone; the screen was much safer than meeting Victor’s eyes. Sure enough, staring at the screen made it easier for Yuuri to allow an easy grin to slide over his face. "How so?"

 

"Well,” Victor started, sitting up now. “I wanted to talk about our goals for this year, but before I could even bring up library renovations, Georgi-that’s our treasurer-started wailing about some ex-girlfriend and then JJ," he didn’t bother mentioning what JJ’s position was, “decided to promote his t-shirt design for his brand which was completely off-topic and I just-" he broke off with a pitiful wail and fell back against his bed.

 

He looked at Yuuri, who had decided at some point during Victor’s rant that it would be rude to keep staring at his phone and had chosen to instead train his eyes to some point above Victor’s head. “Why is my job so hard, Yuuri?”

 

Yuuri couldn’t help the wry smile the spread across his mouth. “I know a thing or two about hard jobs,” he said carefully, “things aren’t always going to go your way so it’s always good to have a backup plan and…" Yuuri trailed off as he accidentally met Victor’s eyes, and his cheeks pinked immediately. “Sorry, was that a rhetorical question?”

 

Victor grinned. “I’m not sure anymore. What were these jobs you had?”

 

Yuuri could feel his face flush even more. “Customer service,” he replied vaguely.

 

Victor made a sympathetic sound. “I’ve only heard horror stories.” Victor moved to get up, and as he did, he also fluidly pulled his shirt off. “Actually, a close friend of mine…”

 

Whatever Victor was telling him about his close friend was lost to Yuuri as a tidal wave roared through his ears. It was not like Yuuri hadn’t seen shirtless men before, but the exquisite expanse of skin had come with no warning. Victor was fit in a way that could only come from hard workouts, the hardened muscles of his abdomen giving way to the tantalizing dip of the curve of his hip bones.

 

Yuuri shot up and he cut across Victor’s voice. “Um,” he stammered, “sorry, I just realized I had somewhere to be? Yeah, I gotta go.” He ungracefully stumbled out of his bed and guiltily avoided Victor’s confused gaze as he made a mad dash to leave the dorm.

 

Yuuri went all the way outside his hall before he allowed himself to relax. The cold night wind bitterly killed the heat that had filled his face.

 

What was wrong with him? _Incidentally, a lot of things,_ Yuuri thought glumly. Victor’s chest flashed across his mind again and Yuuri groaned softly. He tried to convince himself that his reaction was due to how sudden the action was, but his mind unfaithfully reminded him of all the times Phichit (who also had a masterpiece of a torso) had been practically naked around him and Yuuri hadn’t batted an eye.

 

 _I am not going to lust after my roommate,_ Yuuri told himself firmly. Yuuri kept everyone at a distance, Phichit being the sole exception. It would be hard enough to hide what he did from Victor, he certainly did not need a shallow attraction to further complicate things.

 

Just to be safe though, Yuuri proceeded to make sure that he avoided Victor like a plague.

 


	3. Keeping Stars Apart

Yuuri pressed the pill into his mouth as he strode away from the reassuring and safe lights of the downtown district of Detroit.

 

The change was gradual. As the buildings grew more dilapidated and the shadows stretched in a more sinister fashion, Yuuri felt his breathing ease as well.  He heard aggressive yells in the distance, but his heart beat slow and calm. He kept his feet steady and his expression cold. Any sign of weakness here would be easily found and stomped out. In foreboding neighborhoods like this one, Yuuri operated under the impression that he was always being watched.

 

When Yuuri rounded the corner into the familiar alley, the man was already waiting for him. His customer broke out into an unnatural, twitchy smile. “My man! How are you?”

 

“I have your parcel,” replied Yuuri, ignoring his question.

 

The man pouted mockingly and his eyes glinted with menace. “Come on, I just wanna talk! You look good, dude.”

 

There were some customers with whom Yuuri would never pretend to be friendly with.

 

He took a brown box out of his duffle bag. “Do you want it or not?” He kept his voice indifferent; Yuuri could never show that he was just as desperate to sell it as they were to buy it. The man reached a greedy hand out to snatch the box, but Yuuri pulled it out of his reach easily. Yuuri raised an eyebrow and silently held his free hand out, palm facing up.

 

“Yeah, yeah,” The man grumbled, counting out hundred dollar bills. “You sure you don’t want to do a line with us or something?”

 

“No, thank you,” said Yuuri decisively as he exchanged the box for the money.

 

“Man, I don’t know how you do it,” the man said as he caressed the box, “my buds and I can’t have anything but this pure shit anymore.” He took a dramatic sniff of the box and sighed dreamily.

 

It took some effort for Yuuri to not grimace. “I’ll pass on your compliments.”

 

The man gave a dismissive nod and turned to leave. Yuuri waited until he couldn’t make the outline of the gun tucked into the back of the man’s pants. He then folded the money into neat rectangles and placed it inside his mouth.

 

He did not stop walking until he was in the bathroom of a Starbucks that sat snugly in the center of downtown. He slid the cash out of his mouth and placed it in one of the side pockets within the bag. He also shot a quick text to Phichit.

 

 **_Yuuri:_ ** _Hey, still alive._

A typing bubble appeared immediately. Yuuri couldn’t help the fond smile that came over his lips.

 

 **_Phichit:_ ** _why do u have to say it like that??? just tell me your shift is over or smth_

 **_Phichit:_ ** _also i nearly called the cops you’re really pushing your curfew dude_

 **_Yuuri:_ ** _Shift’s over._

 **_Yuuri:_ ** _I’m gonna get some Starbucks._

 **_Phichit:_ ** _oh get me a caramel frap pls_

Yuuri sighed as he got in the long line. He suddenly felt incredibly exhausted. It was not an unfamiliar state for him, brought on by the combination of the tension he had been feeling moments ago and the side effects of the Valium tablet he took.

 

Yuuri forced himself to not think about the transaction that just took place and instead tried to focus on his academic workload. He would need this coffee if he wanted to make even a dent in his homework.

 

* * *

 

Victor froze when he unlocked the door. “Oh.”

 

There was Yuuri. He was sitting at his desk, comfortably poring over some textbook as if he hadn’t been avoiding Victor for the last week. Yuuri looked up at Victor’s voice. “Hey,” Yuuri said. Had his voice always been that soft?

 

“Hey yourself,” Victor replied and offered Yuuri what he hoped came off as a teasing smile. “Come here often?”

 

Victor guiltily shoved aside his pleasure at the sight of Yuuri’s apologetic expression. “Sorry, the first week of classes are always cruel to me. I’ve been at the lab day and night.”

 

So Yurio had been right about Yuuri probably needing to spend a lot of time in the labs. Victor resolutely ignored the relief he felt knowing that Yuuri hadn’t actually been dodging him on purpose. _Why would he even have any reason to do that? You barely know each other._

“That sounds exhausting,” Victor said before suggesting tentatively, “maybe you should take a break?”

 

Yuuri expertly twirled his pencil between his fingers, looking like he was deep in thought. Just when Victor was starting to think he wouldn’t be getting a response, Yuuri looked back up at him. There was a light pink dusting over his cheeks. “Um…I need some coffee. Do you want to go to the café downstairs?”

 

Victor’s eyes widened and he felt delight warming his chest. “Yes! Yes, let’s go!” Victor probably sounded too enthusiastic, but he didn’t care. He grabbed his wallet and quickly reopened their door, just in case Yuuri thought to change his mind.

 

Victor frowned when Yuuri covered a yawn as he followed him out the door. “You must not be getting much sleep, right?”

 

“I’ll catch up on it tomorrow,” Yuuri reassured, shooting Victor a tired smile.

 

Victor nodded agreeably though he wanted to push Yuuri to sleep. Was he even allowed to feel concern for him? He had to keep reminding himself that they were only roommates by label, in reality, they were barely acquaintances.  “So, what happens in the labs?” he changed the topic lightly.

 

Yuuri shrugged. “It’s really boring. We watch chemicals react and collect data. Acid sometimes lands in a student’s eyes, and things might get a little exciting then.” At Victor’s horrified expression, Yuuri laughed. “I’m messing with you, we have lab goggles.”

 

Victor played Yuuri’s laugh over in his mind a couple hundred times. He was allowed to do that; it was a nice sound. “How do you get the goggles over your glasses, then?”

 

“I don’t wear my glasses, I just go through lab half-blind,” Yuuri said easily. “Thanks,” he added as Victor held the café door open for him.

 

“I must be missing something about chemistry,” Victor replied, “I feel like it’s just common sense to not be any type of blind around dangerous chemicals."

 

“I guess I just like living on the edge,” Yuuri said dryly.

 

Victor wanted to use that opportunity to ask Yuuri about any one of the wild rumors about him that Victor had heard from classmates and friends, but Yuuri chose that moment to walk forward towards the barista. Victor hadn’t noticed it while they were walking to the café due to their conversation, but he once again found himself struck a little spellbound at the way Yuuri moved.

 

“Were you a model or something?” Victor asked bluntly after he made his order as well.

 

Yuuri immediately blushed and stammered out, “W-what do you mean?”

 

“You walk very beautifully,” Victor explained.

 

Yuuri’s shoulders relaxed, though his cheeks continued to bloom red. “I used to dance a lot back when I was in Japan. Maybe that’s it?”

 

“Wow, really? What types of dance did you do?” Victor asked curiously as they took their drinks to an empty table.

 

“Ballet is what I’m best at, but I also did jazz, hip hop, contemporary…and some other stuff,” Yuuri explained.

 

Victor latched onto this other stuff. He gave Yuuri a sly smile. “Other stuff…like maybe pole dancing?”

 

Yuuri groaned, the blush returning full-force. “Of course you know about that.”

 

“So, the rumors about you are true?” Victor tried to keep the note of accusation out of his voice. _Three girls,_ his mind thought over and over again like a mantra.

 

Yuuri frowned. “Apparently, there are a lot of rumors about me,” he grumbled. “What exactly are you referring to?”

 

Victor made no delay in telling him. “You pole danced at a party and left it wasted with three girls.”

 

Yuuri stared at Victor, his eyes large with shock before they relaxed into something akin to amusement. “I was definitely wasted, and pole dancing? Yes, that happened. There might be videos, actually…” Yuuri trailed off, frowning. “Oh,” Yuuri’s gaze focused again, a small smile teasing at his lips, “and no girls.”

 

“No girls?” Victor repeated, failing desperately at hiding the hope in his voice.

 

Yuuri’s smile widened. “No girls,” he confirmed. “What else have you heard?”

 

Victor, too busy with his mind trying to figure out why he had any right to feel happy about this discovery, tactlessly said, “I heard you did meth.”

 

Victor only realized what he said at the sudden, stony silence that followed. “I mean, I don’t care-.”

 

“I don’t do meth,” Yuuri interrupted, his voice absent of its previous humor.

 

“I believe you!” Victor hurried to explain-and it was true, he did. He knew, this whole time he had been clinging on to a particular image of Yuuri, and image that had slowly burned away the longer they talked. “There is no way you could be going around doing the things these rumors say! Stealing candy from kids? Getting a dragon tattooed on your chest? Robbing jewelry stores? It’s ridiculous.” Victor rambled in an attempt to bring back the lighthearted atmosphere.

 

Thankfully, Yuuri relaxed against the back of his chair and mercifully ended Victor’s suffering. “It’s actually a tiger, not a dragon.”

 

Victor stared at him, his eyes flickering to Yuuri’s chest. “Wait, what?”

 

Yuuri snickered. “Kidding. For future reference though, I really don’t do much besides typing up lab results.”

 

Victor smiled, this time welcoming the relief that washed over him-he had not completely ruined his budding friendship with Yuuri. Playfully and with exaggerated surprise, he asked, “so you’re telling me that you’re actually a morally upright human?”

 

Yuuri grimaced. “Don’t spread that around, I don’t want people to suddenly start having standards for me.”

 

Later (much later than he had expected) while they were walking back to their dorm, Victor realized something. “Hold on, you said there were videos of you pole dancing? Where can I find them?”

 

Yuuri’s flushed face was the greatest prize.

 

 


	4. The Poor Player

Victor told himself that he had a reason to be in the science building, he just hadn’t figured out what it was yet. Well okay, he was hoping to run into Yuuri, but he couldn’t really tell Yuuri that if they actually bumped into each other. After their caffeine excursion three days ago, Yuuri had gotten much more open with him. They had exchanged numbers ( _obviously_ in case one of them got locked out) and schedules. Yuuri hadn’t been too clear about his and just told Victor what times he’d probably be busy and that if Victor needed to find him in person, he would most likely be in the science building.

 

And this was what led to Victor’s current situation. He walked around casually like he knew where he was going, though he was sure this was the third time he had rounded past the skeleton statue. He stopped in the middle of the hallway before sighing and sitting down on a bench that gave him a good view of the stretch of doors.

 

This wasn’t stalkerish, right? Yuuri had freely told him that he frequented this building, so this was fine. He and Yuuri were surely friends now, or at least they were getting there. It was important for him to build his relationship with his roommate! He had done it with Christophe, but of course, Chris was considerably more forward and friendly than Victor and conversations had been easy for them. Victor knew his way around loud people-he was surrounded by rowdy and party-loving fraternity brothers, strongly opinionated student government members, and Angry Yuri deserved its own category. Yuuri was quiet, he knew how to whisper, and even now that the ice between them had been broken, Victor still wasn’t sure how to engage him.

 

A bell tolled in the distance, marking the start of a new hour and students came rushing out of almost every door. Lo and behold (this had to be fate) Yuuri was the first one out of the door closest to where Victor was sitting. He was scrolling through something on his phone so he didn’t notice Victor, but Victor was happy to simply observe Yuuri for a few moments.

 

Yuuri leaned against the wall, clearly engrossed with whatever was on his phone. He was the definition of elegance, but before Victor could start coming up with flowery metaphors to describe his roommate, he noticed that the students that followed Yuuri out of the classroom gave Yuuri a deliberately wide berth. Victor narrowed his eyes and got up to start walking towards Yuuri.

 

Yuuri’s eyes flickered up from his phone and widened. “V-Victor?”

 

“Funny seeing you here!” Victor hoped he did not miserably fail at sounding surprised.

 

“I mean, most of my classes are in this building.” Yuuri slid his phone into his pocket. “What are you doing here?”

 

“Me?” Victor echoed, nervously rubbing the back of his neck. “Um, just wanted to talk to a professor.”

 

Yuuri raised his eyebrows. “Really? I thought you didn’t take a science class in two years.”

 

Victor really had no reason to feel that much happiness over Yuuri remembering this simple fact about him. “Seeing you work so hard on chemistry reminded me how much I enjoyed science. I was thinking of minoring in Biology.” Victor had absolutely no intention of doing this, but it was worth it to see Yuuri blush at the praise.

 

“In your senior year?” Yuuri asked skeptically.

 

“I know, right? I guess I got too ahead of myself.” Victor cursed himself for not coming up with a better excuse beforehand.

 

Yuuri shook his head, eyes growing large. “Sorry no, I didn’t mean it like that. If anyone can do it, it’s you.”

 

Victor couldn’t stop the smile that spread across his face-until his eyes met two girls who were watching them from a distance. They jumped at being caught staring and quickly turned away. Victor sighed and took a few steps backward towards the staircase. He motioned with his head, hoping that Yuuri would follow him. Yuuri did, matching Victor’s stride easily. “When I saw you,” Victor started slowly, “it seemed as though your classmates were avoiding you. Is everything okay?”

 

Yuuri fixed him with a wry look. “I’m robbing jewelry stores so I’d think avoiding me would be a natural response.”

 

Victor was floored. Spending time around him had made Victor completely forget the severity of Yuuri’s reputation. “I can’t believe people are actually serious about this stuff!” At Yuuri’s uneasy shrug, Victor continued with conviction, “How can someone look at you and even think you’d be capable of doing anything bad?”

 

Yuuri gave him a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Where are you going?”

 

Victor frowned at the topic change but still humored him. “I’m gonna get some lunch. Would you care to join me?”

 

Yuuri was silent for a few moments. It drove Victor a tad crazy but he thought he maintained his calm façade pretty well. “Sure,” Yuuri finally replied.

Victor played off his worry easily. “Wow, really? Second time in three days? I got you to warm up to me fast.”

Yuuri gave him a guilty smile, but still teased back, “Well statistically, it was bound to happen.”

 

“Statistically?” Victor repeated, a smile playing on his lips. “What’s your sample?”

 

“The entire student body. They universally agree that you’re an angel.”

 

“You’ll have to provide evidence for this data.”

 

Yuuri scoffed. “Literally everyone’s face when they see you-like there, that girl,” Yuuri lowered his voice as they passed by a girl who looked at Victor with starstruck eyes, “that should be evidence enough.”

 

Victor could not bring himself to pretend to disagree. He looked at Yuuri slyly. “So, you think I’m an angel?”

 

“Don’t push it,” Yuuri grinned as they walked through the cafeteria’s automatic doors.

 

Inside the cafeteria, Victor observed the food clinically before picking out the fluffiest ham and cheese croissant. He frowned at Yuuri’s plate of spring greens. “That looks kind of sad,” he pointed out bluntly. His eyes scanned the busy cafeteria for free seats.

 

“There’s one there,” Yuuri murmured and they took their seats at the vacant table. “And yes, it's really sad,” Yuuri replied miserably.

 

“Then why are you eating it?” Victor could barely keep the outrage from his voice as he added, “you’re not even going to use dressing?”

 

Yuuri sighed, though he looked amused at Victor’s concern. “I gain weight easily. I have to restrict what I eat once in a while.”

 

Personally, Victor thought that Yuuri could stand to gain a few pounds. Before he could voice this sentiment, Victor’s gaze caught on three boys standing a few feet back. Victor was not surprised whatsoever to find that they were staring. This seemed to be happening more than usual today. “Don’t look now,” Victor’s eyes turned back to Yuuri, “but there are some boys staring at us.”

 

Naturally, Yuuri turned with zero subtlety to look at them. One of the boys was shoved forward by his friends and he stumbled over to their table. “Um,” he muttered, kicking something invisible on the ground before looking up at Yuuri fiercely, “My name is Minami.” He stuck his hand out.

 

Yuuri grabbed it to shake, his expression appearing very confused. “I’m Yuuri.”

 

“I know who you are,” Minami said hotly. He grasped Yuuri’s wrist and pulled out a dry erase marker to scribble something on Yuuri’s hand. Yuuri looked too shocked to do anything about it. “There, you have my number now. You can call me.”

 

“Why…” Yuuri started, glancing at Victor, then down at his hand, and finally looked back at Minami. “Why would I call you?” In his bewilderment, Yuuri’s voice came out sharp, lacking any semblance of its usual softness. Victor didn’t know whether to laugh or dump his water on Minami’s head.

 

Minami blushed furiously. “I-I’m-I’ll just go? I’m going to go now.”

 

Yuuri watched Minami walk away for a lingering second before turning back to Victor. “Was that a dream?”

 

Victor raised an eyebrow at him. “That really hasn’t happened to you before? A lot of people are into the whole bad boy thing.”

 

Yuuri looked like he was debating something before he finally decided to say, “this is probably the fifth time I’ve been out on campus. You know, for non-academic purposes.”

 

Victor took a moment to feel pride that two of these possibly five times Yuuri was out on campus had been spent with him. “What about when you go to class and stuff? You can’t tell me nobody comes up to you then.” Their university was by no means large, and nearly everyone Victor had mentioned Yuuri’s name to had expressed some form of fear or attraction towards his roommate.

 

Yuuri shrugged, his cheeks tingeing pink. “I wouldn’t know. I listen to music so I don’t have to talk to people.”

 

Victor swallowed down the oddest, most unwarranted wave of affection that rose within him. He tore off half his croissant and offered it to Yuuri. “Eat it, please. I’m suffering just watching you struggle through that salad.”

 

Later (once again, much later than Victor had expected) the two of them parted ways-Yuuri to his lab, and Victor to pick up some files he left at their dorm. As he approached the door he noticed a man leaning against the wall next to it. His face was blocked by a wall of greasy and tangled hair, but his suit looked expensive. “May I help you?” Victor asked cautiously.

 

The man tried to stand straight but teetered strangely. Victor made no effort to help steady him. He peered at Victor through blank, bloodshot eyes. It looked like there was some weird powder sprinkled under his nose. “Uh-yeah. Looking for an Asian guy? Black hair? His name is Yori, I think.”

 

The name was horribly pronounced so Victor didn’t have a problem replying, “Sorry, don’t know a Yori. Can I see your ID?”

 

The man frowned. “What?”

 

“You need your ID to get into the dorm halls,” Victor clarified.

 

“A friend let me in,” He mumbled distractedly, already walking away.

 

Victor watched him go uneasily. Victor did not believe for a second that the stranger had a friend who let him in. The fact that the man seemed to have some form of familiarity with Yuuri gave Victor no comfort, in fact, it made him concerned.

 

Victor made sure the door was locked behind him.

 

* * *

 

“I’m telling you, from a financial standpoint, cutting off all your university clients probably isn’t smart.”

 

Yuuri ignored Phichit’s calm rationality in favor of violent overreaction. “No. No. All it takes is for one person to say ‘yeah I got Adderall from Yuuri Katsuki’ and next thing you know people are gonna go ‘yeah I heard Yuuri Katsuki makes meth’. I can’t risk it anymore.”

 

“Risk it anymore?” Phichit repeated, his voice growing acerbic, “Sure, we can pretend you haven’t already been risking your life for over a year now.” At Yuuri’s wince, Phichit sighed and continued in a softer tone. “There are other people selling weed on campus, you know.”

 

Yuuri shot him a despairing look. “Then why don’t I hear about them?”

 

Phichit stood up from his bed and walked over to his desk. “Okay, let’s just go through some facts. First of all, you don’t talk to anyone-I mean, except for me,” he paused there and shot Yuuri a mischievous glance, “and apparently, Victor now as well. Congrats on the progress, by the way. You’ll be having sex in no time.”

 

He ignored Yuuri’s sputtering and proceeded on, “So anyways, if you don’t talk to anyone you’re naturally not going to hear from anyone. Second of all, you’re always walking around without your glasses so I’m pretty sure everyone thinks you’re just constantly pissed off. And last, but not least, there is something terrifying about a person who can throw down twelve shots and a bottle of champagne without dying.”

 

“Wow Phichit,” Yuuri quipped sarcastically, though his mood felt considerably lighter, “You shouldn’t have ditched College of Math and Science.”

 

Phichit grinned and opened his mouth to respond but Yuuri’s phone suddenly started vibrating rapidly and several notifications popped up.

****

**_Alley 3:_ ** _I don’t have the money for lawn mowing next week_

**_Alley 3:_ ** _I’ll owe you_

**_Alley 3:_ ** _Please I’ll pay you back as soon as possible_

Yuuri chewed his lower lip, before typing back a reply.

 

**_Yuuri Katsuki:_ ** _Sorry, I’m going to have to take you off the contact list._

**_Alley 3:_ ** _Please! I can pay you in some other way_

**_Alley 3:_ ** _Any other way_

**_Yuuri Katsuki:_ ** _I only accept money._

**_Alley 3:_ ** _Maybe I can convince you? I have a persuasive mouth_

**_Yuuri Katsuki:_ ** _Let me know if you have the money. We cannot meet otherwise._

Yuuri watched the speech bubble appear and disappear several times before he received a reply.

 

**_Alley 3:_ ** _I’ll let you know_

Yuuri felt his insides twist. It wasn’t the first time this had happened, and they would always get the money. Yuuri had stopped allowing himself to think about how they attained it. When had he grown so numb to this? When had he stopped caring that he was contributing to the destruction of these peoples’ lives?

 

“Yuuri?” Phichit’s voice broke through his thoughts, “Everything okay?”

 

Yuuri gave his best friend a smooth smile. “Yeah. Lab partner had questions.” He did not need Phichit’s You are Not a Bad Person Lecture #52.

 

Phichit did not look convinced. However, he sighed and went back to the original topic. “I can’t believe I’m saying this but…I hope you don’t drop your customers here. They’re the only safe ones you have.”

 

“I’ll think about it,” Yuuri murmured.

 

But all Yuuri could think about was going back to his dorm letting Victor’s bright eyes and happy voice fly him away from this reality.  If only for a bit.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you :)


End file.
